Listen to the podcast on cdmCyclist.com, and stop riding like a 6-year old.
Roadies, cruisers, small wheels, and 'bents. This class has something for every cyclists-- guaranteed.
April 21, 23 – Orange- This popular classroom session will be offered at the Orange County Transportation Authority offices on Main St., with the on-road portion Saturday morning.
“I’ve been riding for 12 years and I couldn’t believe how valuable this class turned out to be.” Because of comments like that we offer it with a money back guarantee.
Orange County’s most renown bicycle tourist, Rob Templin, inspires people to expand their horizons. We invite you be inspired, 6:PM, Thursday, Aug. 26, as Rob shares how anyone, young or old, can roll into their own personal adventure.
Maui tradewinds
Dazzling views, the sounds and smells of nature surround you as your bike rounds bend after bend along a country road. But choosing the right road, selecting the perfect daily destination is key to a memorable tour.
Planning your own trip or joining one of Rob’s Second Summer groups, we’ll share the delights which only travel by bicycle can reveal. Along the way he’ll share insights into the bicycle cultures of the countries he visits, where bicycles are a more accepted mode of travel.
The evening is FREE, but seating is limited, so please RSVP, 949 492 5737, or e-mail us.
http://tinyurl.com/sart2010 Video of problems on this vital bicycle transportation link: a car show staged on a weekend with pedestrians– and cars– blocking the trail. Bollards, limited openings of the route which by law must be available 24/7.
This Web site is dedicated to you, the Orange County bicyclist. It’s here because, while cycling is growing faster now than it has in 20 years, riding in OC is not all green lights and blue skies.
Like cyclists throughout America, we face challenges:
From motorists who just don’t get it– that we have full and legal right to the streets and roads of Orange County
From law enforcement whose grasp of California Vehicle Code is often weak or confused.
From city and county planners and engineers who often think of bicyclists last, if at all, in their efforts to “improve” the infrastructure
From ourselves– cyclists who ride like children, risking not only their own lives but those of other lawful road users, and whose rude and illegal behavior feeds the prejudice of drivers and police.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN O.C.B.C.
The efforts of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition and other advocates are committed to making our county a better place for all cyclists: school kids, moms, commuters, casual and avid recreational riders of all ages.
Why you ride doesn’t matter. What you ride doesn’t matter.
All that matters is that you be free to choose a bike when it fits the trip before you– and that the streets be a safe and pleasant place to ride.
Skills and drills are part of this confidence building class. Here a student carves a turn on her commuting bike that would make a bike racer proud.
Bicycle Classes
Urban Cycling Workshop January 19 & 21
This next League of American Bicyclists class is tailored for transportation professionals, and scheduled for January in San Clemente. This class is open all riders – beginner through experienced club cyclists. We especially invite city traffic and planning professionals, anyone who wants to find out what real bicycling is all about.
During this 9 hour course we’ll separate bicycle safety fact from fiction, teach real, proven, and effective behaviors to make cycling easier and less stressful. Basic mechanics and bike fit are covered, too.
Friday evening’s 3 hour lecture is followed by morning on-bike skills and drills, all part of this confidence building class. At left, a student carves a turn on her commuting bike that would make any bike racer proud. In addition to learning people tell us this class is FUN!
$35 includes materials, insurance, a written exam and (usually) a diploma “suitable for framing.” Contact Pete van Nuys, petevannuys@cox.net, 949 492 5737.
Why are the voices in the vast majority of bicycle advocacy and policy making boards male?
Cathy DeLuca, a graduate student from San Jose State, has created an online survey to understand why. If you are a woman who bikes, your participation would really help! The survey should take under 5 minutes and will be open until September 30, 2011. If you have questions about the study, email deluca.survey@gmail.com.
At twice the allowed blood-alcohol level, Ms. Stearns was a threat to life and property.
Dana Point – Seems like all the recent cases of negligence through the DA’s office have female perps who are either drunk or drugged at the time of impact.
This one, going back to 2007, involves Michelle Stearns, 30, who like Miller (below) was drunk when she lost control of her BMW and drove unto the sidewalk, took out a power pole, signal control box, and Jose Barranco-Patino. Patino was riding home from work on the sidewalk along Del Obispo when he was killed.
Last week Stearns offered an open guilty plea to gross vehicular manslaughter, which means she goes straight to sentencing with no stipulation from the DA or judge as to what here sentence will be.
She is scheduled to appear in court June 15 and OCBC will be there.
Newport Beach – The arraignment of Danae Marie Miller has been continued until April 15 at Harbor Justice Center in Dept. 1.
Miller, 22 years old from Newport Coast, was charged March 10 with felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated. She killed accomplished triathlete, Amine Britel, rear-ending him as she drove in the bike lane, while texting on her cell phone.
Twelfth time's the charm. Will she finally be off OC streets for a few years now that she's killed someone?
While legally innocent until proven guilty, Miller already has 11 moving violations on her record. Pretty amazing for a 22 year old. Why her parents hadn’t taken her car away from her is a reasonable question at this point– 11 citations is sort of a red flag, wouldn’t you say? The word “enabler” come to mind.
Miller was drinking at her place of work, Zinc Cafe, before she decided to get behind the wheel to engage her social media. Clearly the previous fist full of tickets taught her nothing. Now, as David Whiting noted in the OC Register, life as she knows it is over. Which puts her one up on Mr. Britel whose life is simply, over.
Miller’s out on bail now, $100,000 worth. Her charges were filed the day before another cyclist killer, Patricia Izquieta, was sent away for 3 years, handcuffed and pleading to her father, for the hit and run death of Donald Murphy in December, ’09.
The Orange County DA’s pursuit of manslaughter convictions in these cases put us one step closer to justice in a county where motorists who killed cyclists were often let off with a warning and victims were blamed for being “in the roadway.” What does a 3 year conviction, with half time off for good behavior, say about the value of cyclist’s life in Orange County? Do we respect the rights and lives of the thousands of OC cyclists when we allow spoiled 20-somethings to collect 11 citations and still motor around our roads?
In December, 2009, Patricia Izquieta drove her Saturn SUV northbound on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach in the far right-hand lane. The victim, Donald Murphy, was riding his bicycle along the curb behind two of his friends. Izquieta drifted towards the curb and hit Murphy from behind. She then fled the scene, dragging Murphy’s bicycle beneath her car. Police found her, impaired by three prescription drugs, sitting in a Coco’s Bakery parking lot.
Izquieta was to 3 years in state prison. Representatives from OCBC were there.
May 24, 2011 – During April and May OCBC has met with Orange County Transportation Authority officials and engineers on several occasions, pushing for bicycle accommodation on Placentia Ave. and Kraemer projects. As the “lead agency” on these two projects OCTA can push for city approval of the changes bicyclists– and motorists– need to safely share these roads.
OCTA agrees in principle, but as the cities have final say over streets within their city limits, the transportation agency argues it can only try to influence, not mandate, bike facilities.
Placentia and Fullerton need to wise up. Since AB1358 went into effect in January, 2011 all cities are required to address Complete Streets standards in future roadways.
We need you to help. If you live in either Fullerton or Placentia, contact city council and city staff. Ask that bicycles, which will be using these streets in ever increasing numbers for the next 100 years, be accommodated in the plans now. Specifically:
Placentia Roy Stevenson, Project Manager, roy.stephenson@us.bureauveritas.com
Ask him for bike lanes on Placentia Ave.
* 8-foot sidewalks and 14-foot lanes on Placentia Ave. but no bike lanes– that’s ridiculous.
* 5.5′ sidewalks on both sides of the meet current standards and are adequate. Shave ‘em down and you gain 2.5′ for a bike lane.
* Take a couple feet out of the travel lanes and new raised median and you’ve got 5′ for a bike lane.
Kraemer
Ask him for shared lane markings, a.k.a. “Sharrows” painted in the outisde lanes for the full length of the project, and “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs at the entrances and at Crowther Ave.
* OK, there’s too much stuff buried under that road to dig the underpass wide enough.
* But motorists deserve to know that bicycles will be on that street and in the right hand lane. And that’s what sharrows do, alert drivers to our presence.
March 12, 2011 – Every day the mighty Burlington Northern Santa Fe sends dozens of transcontinental trains, some 2 miles long, through Anaheim, Placentia, and Fullerton. The old grade crossings have frustrated motorists and cyclists alike, to say nothing of the deadly danger 60 MPH freight trains present.
Improvement here can enhance north/south bicycle access or become a deterrent to cyclists for generations to come. While we applaud the effort of these cities and the OCTA to replace the grade crossings with over- and under-crossings at major streets, we’re also concerned. The streets are: State College, Raymond, Placentia, Kramer, Orangethorpe, Rose/Tustin, and Lakeview.
The last three, above, are overcrossings and will have bike lanes striped as part of the project. You can thank planners at the Orange County Transportation Authority, OCTA, for those.
But the first four are underpasses and have no provision for bicycles at all.
Excuses abound: underpasses are expensive, the right of ways are too narrow and would require taking private property to gain width needed for bike lanes, and there are no bike lanes currently on these streets so none were included in the projects. This last excuse is the lamest of all.
PLACENTIA Perpetual problem child, Placentia, makes this pathetic excuse. Claiming neither Placentia Ave. nor Kramer are in the county’s Strategic Bikeways Master Plan it has excluded bike lanes in its approved designs. OCTA’s Bikeways Plan is just a compilation of routes provided by the cities; Placentia is saying they haven’t included bicycles in the current plans because they have never included bicycles in any of their past plans either.
Kraemer Kraemer is a vital north/south link for all bike commuters from Brea, La Habra, and Diamond Bar to the Santa Ana River Trail. Bike lanes have existed at various times along Kraemer, but are eliminated at the whim of the city engineer who never heard of any conveyance without an engine. Fortunately, the Orange County Transportation Authority is the lead agency on this project and is prodding the city to shoehorn in some type of bicycle accommodation. The width without taking private property is narrow, but the last suggestion we heard was green painted outside lanes with sharrows along the narrowest part of the project. That’s an innovative approach and certainly better than nothing.
Placentia Ave.
Talk about wasted potential! Placentia Ave. serves major shopping, employement centers, and skirts the city’s new transportation district with a soon to be built Metrolink station– the station closest to Cal State Fullerton campus. The underspass features wide 8 foot sidewalks and 14 foot outside lane. Shaving two feet from both would provide a standard bike lane without compromising standards or widening the right of way. Placentia can set itself on the road to redemption with this logical and reasonable accommodation.
Please don’t hesitate to tell Placentia what you think of their disregard for bicyclists. Contact Roy Stevenson, Project Manager Grade Separations, 714 993 8131; City Administrator, Troy Butzlaff: tbutzlaff@placentia.org, 714 993 8117.
FULLERTON The city of Fullerton is the “lead agency,” i.e. it takes responsibility for running the projects at Raymond and St. College. They make no provision for bicyclists of any kind on these two $-multi-million improvements. Very disappointing for a college town which supposedly respects the needs of non-motorists.
Raymond
Raymond serves an industrial area employing hundreds of workers, many of whom might bicycle to work if the roadway welcomed them.
State College Blvd.
In addition to a landscaped center median, the plan for State College Blvd. includes 4.5 feet of landscaping between the 6 foot sidewalk and the curb. Why is decorative planting more important than safe room for bicyclists?
You should express your displeasure with the current project designs by contacting Thuy Nguyen, Civil Engineer: THUYN@CI.FULLERTON.CA.US, (714) 738-6845.
2010 marked the first full year of activity for the revitalized Orange County Bicycle Coalition. We look back on a year of both challenges and opportunities for bicycling in OC. Our Board of Directors includes Don Harvey, Brian DeSousa, Michelle Kashima, Vince Buck, Rock Kendall, Pete van Nuys, with Bill Sellin, Jim Freibert at large. Pete van Nuys currently serves pro bono as Exec. Dir.
A goal for 2011 is creation of committee chairs and expansion of our board to better manage our diverse areas of concern.
Renewing our Commitment: Justice for Cyclists
We concern ourselves with the rights of all cyclists, not only experienced club riders. OCBC has traditionally focused on cyclists injured or killed by motorists, delving into the circumstances of their collisions, urging county prosecutors to press charges when motorists are at fault, following the trial, commenting on the outcome, seeking insights which may lead to safer driver and cyclists behavior and better roadway design.
This past year has brought tragedy to the families of four cyclists riding in Newport Beach.
August, Dan Crain, climbing westbound Newport Coast at the 73
July, Michael Nine, descending northbound Spyglass Hill
December 09, Donald Murphy, southbound on Jamboree
July 09, Daryl David Benefiel, descending westbound Newport Coast
It should be noted that these were generally seasoned, experienced road cyclists whom members of the general public would consider “professional” because of their abilities. The public at large suffers injury and death at a far higher rate per mile than club cyclists and infrastructure alone cannot prevent these tragedies. For this reason cyclist education is a high priority for OCBC.
Action in 2010
In our first full year of reorganized effort OCBC has:
* Re-forged relations with County DA’s office to monitor criminal trials of motorists who’ve killed or seriously injured bicyclists in traffic collisions.
* Re-forged relations with Caltrans Dist. 12 to monitor bicycle projects on state highway in OC, assist that agency in realizing it’s stated goal of accommodation for non-motorized users in compliance with Complete Streets doctrine per the agency’s Deputy Directive 64.
* Engaged Caltrans Dist. 12 senior management to address roadway deficiencies, specifically in signs and striping, beginning with the SR73/ Newport Coast interchange.
* Forged relations with OCTA through support of Bike to Work Week; presentation to major OC corporations’ employee transportation coordinators; on-site workshops for OCTA employees, City of Anaheim Resort Transit, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and OCTA employees.
* Created Awards of Recognition for people or agencies who have taken significant steps to advance bicyclist safety or accommodation.
* Promoted League Certified Instruction and established the first training session for LCIs in Orange County.
* Influenced Metrolink policy increasing bicycle capacity on existing trains, contributed design input to increased bicycle capacity on new or modified rail cars.
* Leveraged BCI’s donation to OCBC by conducting successful fund raising through presentations of Chasing Legends, netting over $3,000.00, raising OCBC’s profile in the cycling community.
* Assisted League of American Bicyclists, Instructor Training seminar in Sacramento; produced OC’s LCI Training seminar in San Clemente, graduated five Orange County Wheelmen as new LCIs to serve the club and community; purchased materials for 100 Street Skills 101 students in support of LCI’s class recruitment efforts.
* Advised and assisted volunteers and city staff in achieving Bicycle Friendly Community award for the City of Huntington Beach.
Issues on ongoing concern
OCBC speaks for cyclists as a recognized stakeholder with the following agencies or projects:
* City of Anaheim bikeways;
* City of Placentia bikeways, achieved recognition of cyclists interests, helped establish ad hoc bicycle advisory group;
* City of Newport Beach, bicycle ad hoc and Bicycle Safety Committee, established recognition of cyclists’ right to the roadway at outset, recognized as stakeholder;
* City of San Clemente, Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan;
* San Onofre/ San Mateo State Park bikeways, improved lane striping and signage;
* Orange County Sanitation, Pacific Coast Highway utilities project, improved bike lane;
* Orange County Flood Control, Santa Ana River Trail, recreational trails proposal Green River to Gypsum Canyon;
* Orange County Parks and Recreation (RRTAC), Santa Ana River Trail 10 mph speed limit postings;
* California High Speed Rail, ARTIC regional transportation center bicycle facilities and impact on SART.
Skill Building
Attended Bicycle Facilities Design and Implementation workshop by UC Berkeley, Institute for Traffic Studies, for city traffic engineers and planners; provided Orange County specific content.
Attended Caltrans Understanding Bicycle Transportation workshop for District 7 traffic engineers and planners, provided Orange County specific content.
Attended California’s General Plan Workshop for residents and staff updating city General Plan and Circulation Elements, by UCLA Extension.
Silverado and Modjeska Canyons provide a rural road cycling experience unlike that of what would typically be expected in suburban Orange County. Unfortunately, the issues of cyclists and motorists sharing narrow roadways has frustrated canyon residents, as shown in the following article titled “Move Over Rover” which appeared in the “Canyon Beat” section of the September Foothills Sentry:
Canyon drivers are increasingly frustrated by bicyclists engaging in thoughtless, often dangerous behavior on narrow, twisting back roads. They are dismayed by near head-on collisions caused by bicyclists riding in the road rather than on shoulders, riders leaving their own car doors open into roads, and other risks. But surprisingly, locals may not have the law on their side. Those are the conclusions of a report by the Inter-Canyon League’s Gateways Safety and Security Committee.
Committee member Hank Rodgers said he researched state and local codes, and learned that in the past 20 years, laws have increasingly been changed to favor recreational riders.
“They are very organized, and they’ve got the manufacturers backing them in many cases,” he said at the league’s September meeting.
But Silverado resident Dick Ertman pointed out that bicyclists “may have rights, but they also have responsibilities.” He asked bikers to “take a look in that fancy little mirror you’ve got on your helmet. If you see five drivers behind you, pull over for a minute.”
Committee members have spoken with and done ride-alongs with local law enforcement, who say they are extremely shorthanded due to budget constraints,and representatives of two leading bike groups who say they would like to sit down and work things out. The committee is considering a large meeting to let all sides discuss the issues. They are also looking into speed bumps, signs and other possible safety measures. Many residents said they are most upset about the seeming arrogance of the riders, and that simple courtesy would be a cheaper, more effective solution.
“It’s hard because you can’t regulate common sense,” said Modjeska resident Paula Labar.
OCBC board member Brian DeSousa wrote a letter to the editor in reply, which was printed in the October issue, and is also quoted below:
It’s unfortunate and unproductive to see the rather blatant anti-bicyclist bias in last month’s Canyon Beat, starting with the title “move over rover” and continuing through the rest of the article.
This isn’t the first time that bicyclist advocates have heard the same tired old arguments such as “near head-on collisions caused by bicyclists riding in the road rather than on shoulders” presented in the article. Replace “bicyclists” with any other road user, and unless canyon residents are endorsing unsafe passing, the anti-bicyclist bias becomes crystal clear.
Traffic laws are written for the safety and mobility of ALL road users — priority doesn’t go to motorists and/or canyon residents. There are many reasons why a bicyclist may legally choose to use the road over a narrow or virtually non-existent shoulder. This choice provided by the law for the bicyclist’s safety is much more important than a motorist’s fictitious right to travel through the canyons without taking a foot off the gas pedal.
That said, there are things that bicyclists, especially the ones riding in groups, can do to help minimize delay to canyon residents. But working with the bicycling groups will require canyon residents to take a cooperative rather than a confrontational approach on the issues.
